Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-04-14
Welded To ADVENTURES.
Indian Maidens Shanefully Deceived by I'm
prinei9led W hite Men.
New York Times

Indian Maidens Shamefully Deceived by I'm
prinei9led W hite Men.
New York Times.
/ The Miami maidens have been thor-
oughly plucked by the avaricious and
| characterless white rlen of these parts,
writes Wabash, Ind, correspondent of
The New York Sun. So have most of the
members Of that unhappy tribe, for that
matter, but the fate of the girls is per-
| haps the most sorrowful.
Thirty years ago in an evil hour the
Miamis were induced by the prospect of
immediate gain and by the persuasion of
men whom they regarded as friends to
consent to the abrogation of the treaty
under which they were to receive an an
nuity forever and to accept in lieu there
of the gross sum of 1921, 900, TO be paid
to them in 26 annual payments. The last
payment was made in 1881. At that time
the once powerful Miami tribe was re-
duced to 81 10 embers and tho sum each
received in settlement was 800.
| Most of the Miamis were in the vicinity
of Wabash on lands which the govern
ment had given them, but only few of
them showed any thrift as farmers.
White spectators speedily gained con-
| troll of their holdings, and the Miamis
became wanderers, refugees, aad vaga-
bonds.
An exception vas to be found in the
case of Me-shin-g o-mena's band, just
south of .his town. Me-shin-go-mena
was the last chief of the Miamis, and his
family, as we'll as others that were with
him, were of a high order of intelligence.
They titled the soil with success, had
I y
and they were too shrewd aad provident
as a rule to be taken in by designing
white men.
For many years the Miami maidens
have been sought in marriage by white
scoundrels and adventures who knew of
their wealth in land and expected to
make something by the transaction.
With these girls marriage with the whites
is lofty ambition which no amount of
bitter experience On the part of others
seems sufficient to eradicate. They are,
as rule, comely when young, and those
belonging to the old chiefs band having
been especially so. They have been
heiresses almost without exception. and
in their simplicity they nave not been
able to realize that in most cases their
suffers have been mere fortune hunters
of the basest sort. Dozens of these poor
girls have been induced to contract mar
| riages with white ruffians, and it is not
known that single one of them has ever
had reason to do else than regret the day
that she saw white man.
In view of the unbrOken experience
which the Miami girls had had in matri-
monlal affairs, much surprise was caused
here few years ago, when an advertise
ment appearlngA In local news
paper ANNOUNCED that Nancy Wa-ca- cohah,
"a young Miami maiden, good-looking,
| amiable and neat, and the owner of two
hundred acres of excellent land" would
| marry a white man if the right one pre-
scented himself. Efforts were made to
| head the girl off, and the sad fate of her
sisters YVES pointed out to her, but she
she would not be advised. She felt that
was ass good a judge of human nature
as anybody, and her advertisement re-
remained in the paper.
The replies received we're numerous.
Every worthless scamp in the country for
fifty miles around responded, most of
them in person, and Nancy was fattered
almost to the point of lunacy by the at
tentiOns which she received. Some of
the men who sought her are said to have
been worthy fellows, who might have
treated her in an honorable manner, but,
with the faulty which had characterized
all the other girls of her race, Nancy fin
ally selected from score or more of ar
dent suitors young man named Charles
Hale, and the marriage was speedily cele
brated. Hale was a man who had never
made success of anything he had under
taken, who was indolent and wholly with
out experience of any bread winning
pursuit, but he was fairly good looking,
and for a time Nancy was the happiest
girl in Indiana.
She and her husband settled on her
farm, and for time they made an effort
to cultivate it, but it sooR became evil
dent that Hale had no intention of work
ing. On one pretext and another he in
duced her to sell or mortgage the land
and give him the money, until all was ir-
retrievably gone, and then, with nothing
but the charity of her people to rely up
on, he abandoned her, taking up with a
white woman and leaving the country.
Nancy could hardly be made to believe
that the land which had been hers, and
her fathers and her grandfathers, had
passed from her control forever, and the
white husband for whom she had paid so
dearly had abandoned her, but when she
realized the truth her grief was uncon-
trollable.
Some of the older members of the
tribe who still retain their lands took the
girl in and gave her home, and through
the kindness of Wabash attorney an
action for divorce has now been brought.
In the bill Hale is charged with cruel and
inhuman treatment, drunkenness and I'M
faithfulness land there are said to be
plenty of witnesses to establish the allie
cations.
ParaIyzing Chicago
Chicago News